High-speed gear-driven spinning scroll

ABSTRACT

A gear-driven spinning scroll device is provided. The scroll device comprises a housing defining a working fluid volume and a lubrication chamber defining a lubrication volume. The working fluid volume and the lubrication volume are separated from one another. The device also comprises a first scroll rotatably supported by one of a set of second drive gears and a second scroll rotatably supported by another one of the set of second drive gears. The set of second drive gears are disposed in the lubrication volume. The device also comprises a motor and a drive shaft connected to the motor. The drive shaft is supported by a set of first drive gears disposed in the lubrication volume and is configured to transmit torque from the motor to each of the first scroll and the second scroll via the set of first drive gears and the set of second drive gears.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of and priority under 35U.S.C. § 119(e), to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/152,997,filed Feb. 24, 2021, entitled “High-Speed Gear-Driven Spinning Scroll,”the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference, in its entirety, for all that it teaches and for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure generally relates to spinning scroll devices, andrelates more particularly to co-rotating spinning scroll devices.

A typical scroll compressor generally provides two scrolls to compressor pressurize fluid such as liquids and gases. A traditional orbitingscroll compressor design has one scroll which is fixed and a secondscroll that orbits relative to the fixed scroll, without rotating.Similarly, a typical scroll expander generally provides two scrolls thatare used to convert energy from expanding gas into rotational energy. Atraditional orbiting scroll expander design has one scroll which isfixed and a second scroll that orbits relative to the fixed scroll,without rotating. These devices may use grease-packed bearings forapplications in which oil cannot enter the process gas, or oil-floodedbearings for applications in which oil is allowed to enter the processgas.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Co-rotating scroll compressor devices according to some embodiments ofthe present disclosure utilize a novel compressor design and are capableof operating at higher speeds than traditional orbiting scrollcompressors. The two scroll housings have an offset center, resulting ina similar relative motion between the scrolls as in an orbiting scrolldesign. However, the higher operating speeds allow for a reduction inoverall size when compared to a traditional orbiting design.

A spinning scroll device according to at least one embodiment of thepresent disclosure comprises: a housing defining a working fluid volume;a lubrication chamber defining a lubrication volume, wherein the workingfluid volume and the lubrication volume are separated from one another;a first scroll mounted within the housing and rotatably supported by oneof a set of second drive gears, the set of second drive gears disposedin the lubrication volume; a second scroll mounted within the housingand rotatably supported by another one of the set of second drive gears;a motor; and a drive shaft operatively connected to the motor, the driveshaft supported by a set of first drive gears, the drive shaftconfigured to transmit torque from the motor to each of the first scrolland the second scroll via the set of first drive gears and the set ofsecond drive gears, the set of first drive gears disposed in thelubrication volume.

The device may further comprise a set of bearing plates coupled to thehousing and a set of cover plates respectively coupled to the set ofbearing plates, wherein the housing, the set of bearing plates, and theset of cover plates form the lubrication chamber.

The lubrication chamber may comprise a first drive gear portion housingone of the set of first drive gears and a second drive gear portionhousing another one of the set of first drive gears.

The lubrication chamber may comprise a passageway fluidly connecting thefirst drive gear portion and the second drive gear portion.

The lubrication chamber may comprise lubrication and a portion of theset of first drive gears is in contact with the lubrication, and whereinrotation of the set of first drive gears disperses the lubrication tothe set of second drive gears.

Each of the first scroll and the second scroll may comprise a scrollshaft coupled to a scroll plate, wherein the scroll shaft is supportedby a respective second drive gear of the set of second drive gears.

The device may further comprise a first scroll bearing configured tosupport the scroll shaft of the first scroll; a second scroll bearingconfigured to support the scroll shaft of the second scroll; and a drivebearing configured to support the drive shaft, wherein the first scrollbearing, the second scroll bearing, and the drive bearing are disposedin the lubrication volume.

The motor may be liquid cooled.

A spinning scroll device according to at least one embodiment of thepresent disclosure comprises: a housing defining a working fluid volume;a lubrication chamber defining a lubrication volume, wherein the workingfluid volume and the lubrication volume are fluidly separated from oneanother; a first scroll rotatably mounted within the housing andsupported by a first scroll bearing, the first scroll bearing disposedin the lubrication volume; a second scroll rotatably mounted within thehousing and supported by a second scroll bearing, the second scrollbearing disposed in the lubrication volume; a motor; a drive shaftoperatively connected to the motor, the drive shaft configured totransmit torque from the motor to each of the first scroll and thesecond scroll, the drive shaft supported by a drive bearing disposed inthe lubrication volume.

The device may further comprise a set of first drive gears configured tosupport the drive shaft, the set of first drive gears disposed in thelubrication volume; a set of second drive gears disposed in thelubrication volume, wherein one of the set of second drive gears isconfigured to support the first scroll and, wherein another one of theset of second drive gears is configured to support the second scroll,wherein the drive shaft transmit torque from the motor to each of thefirst scroll and the second scroll via the set of first drive gears andthe set of second drive gears.

The lubrication chamber may comprise a first drive gear portion housingone of the set of first drive gears and a second drive gear portionhousing another one of the set of first drive gears.

The lubrication chamber may comprise a passageway fluidly connecting thefirst drive gear portion and the second drive gear portion.

The lubrication chamber may comprise lubrication and a portion of theset of first drive gears is in contact with the lubrication, and whereinrotation of the set of first drive gears disperses the lubrication tothe set of second drive gears.

The lubrication may comprise an oil.

Each of the first scroll and the second scroll may comprise a scrollshaft coupled to a scroll plate, wherein the scroll shaft is supportedby a respective second drive gear of the set of second drive gears.

The device may further comprise a set of bearing plates coupled to thehousing and a set of cover plates coupled to the set of bearing plates,wherein the housing, the set of bearing plates, and the set of coverplates form the lubrication chamber.

A spinning scroll device according to at least one embodiment of thepresent disclosure comprises: a housing defining a working fluid volume;a lubrication chamber defining a lubrication volume, wherein the workingfluid volume and the lubrication volume are separated and independent ofone another; a first scroll mounted within the housing and rotatablysupported by a first drive gear of a set of second drive gears and afirst scroll bearing, the set of second drive gears and the first scrollbearing disposed in the lubrication volume; a second scroll mountedwithin the housing and rotatably supported by a second drive gear of theset of second drive gears and a second scroll bearing, the second scrollbearing disposed in the lubrication volume; a motor; and a drive shaftoperatively coupled with the motor and supported by a set of first drivegears and a drive bearing, the drive shaft configured to transmit torquefrom the motor to each of the first scroll and the second scroll via theset of first drive gears and the set of second drive gears, the set offirst drive gears and the drive bearing disposed in the lubricationvolume.

Each of the first scroll bearing, the second scroll bearing, and thedrive bearing may comprise a pair of bearings.

The lubrication chamber may comprise a lubrication fluid and a portionof the set of first drive gears is in contact with the lubricationfluid, and wherein rotation of the set of first drive gears dispersesthe lubrication fluid to the set of second drive gears.

Each of the first scroll bearing, the second scroll bearing, and thedrive bearing may comprise open sides configured to enable thelubrication fluid to pass through the respective first scroll bearing,the second scroll bearing, and the drive bearing.

Although one or more aspects of the present disclosure may beillustrated with respect to a scroll compressor or a scroll expander,the present disclosure is generally applicable to and includes any typeof scroll device, without limitation.

The term “scroll device” as used herein refers to scroll compressors,scroll vacuum pumps, scroll expanders, and similar mechanical devices.Persons of ordinary skill in the art will understand that basicmodifications may need to be made to aspects of the present disclosureto enable usage of the present disclosure with scroll expanders, whichbasic modifications are well within the knowledge and skill of a personof ordinary skill in the art.

The preceding is a simplified summary of the disclosure to provide anunderstanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is neitheran extensive nor exhaustive overview of the disclosure and its variousaspects, embodiments, and configurations. It is intended neither toidentify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate thescope of the disclosure but to present selected concepts of thedisclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detaileddescription presented below. As will be appreciated, other aspects,embodiments, and configurations of the disclosure are possibleutilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features setforth above or described in detail below.

Numerous additional features and advantages are described herein andwill be apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of thefollowing Detailed Description and in view of the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are incorporated into and form a part of thespecification to illustrate several examples of the present disclosure.These drawings, together with the description, explain the principles ofthe disclosure. The drawings simply illustrate preferred and alternativeexamples of how the disclosure can be made and used and are not to beconstrued as limiting the disclosure to only the illustrated anddescribed examples. Further features and advantages will become apparentfrom the following, more detailed, description of the various aspects,embodiments, and configurations of the disclosure, as illustrated by thedrawings referenced below.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a co-rotating spinning scroll deviceaccording to at least some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a co-rotating spinning scrolldevice according to at least some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a co-rotating spinning scroll deviceaccording to at least some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional elevation view taken along line A-A shown inFIG. 3 of the co-rotating spinning scroll device according to at leastsome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an oil chamber according to at leastsome embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is cross-sectional perspective view taken along line A-A shown inFIG. 3 of the co-rotating spinning scroll device according to at leastsome embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before any embodiments of the disclosure are explained in detail, it isto be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its applicationto the details of construction and the arrangement of components setforth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. Thedisclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or ofbeing carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that thephraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein ismeant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereofas well as additional items. Further, the present disclosure may useexamples to illustrate one or more aspects thereof. Unless explicitlystated otherwise, the use or listing of one or more examples (which maybe denoted by “for example,” “by way of example,” “e.g.,” “such as,” orsimilar language) is not intended to and does not limit the scope of thepresent disclosure.

The ensuing description provides embodiments only, and is not intendedto limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims.Rather, the ensuing description will provide those skilled in the artwith an enabling description for implementing the described embodiments.It being understood that various changes may be made in the function andarrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

Various aspects of the present disclosure will be described herein withreference to drawings that may be schematic illustrations of idealizedconfigurations.

A scroll device according to one embodiment of the present disclosureutilizes a drive shaft driven by an electric motor. This drive shaft mayhave two large diameter gears which transmit torque to two independent,parallel misaligned scroll shafts. These scroll shafts may have smalldiameter gears (e.g., smaller in diameter than the large diameter gears,etc.), which allow the scroll shafts to spin at high speeds incomparison to the drive shaft due to the gear ratio between the largediameter gears and the small diameter gears. A scroll, which may includean involute spiral wall and a base plate, may be affixed to the end ofeach of the two scroll shafts. The parallel misalignment of the scrollshafts, from now forward called the eccentric, creates swept volumesthat reduce as the two scrolls co-rotate. This process generatespressure and flow rate. The drive shaft, gears, and scroll shafts areconnected in a way that maintains angular positioning (or clocking)between the two scrolls. This clocking is important because as the twoscrolls co-rotate, their angular position and velocity must be identicalto prevent contact between the two involutes.

A co-rotating spinning scroll device 100 is shown in FIGS. 1-4 and 6.The scroll device 100 comprises a housing 102, a motor 104, an inlet106, and outlets 108A, 108B. It will be appreciated that in someembodiments, the scroll device 100 may comprise more than one inletand/or one outlet or more than two outlets. The purpose of theco-rotating scroll device 100 may be to compress any gaseous operatingfluid (or pump any liquid operating fluid), although the design of thescroll device 100 can be utilized for any co-rotating scroll compressor,expander, or pump. Additionally, the design utilizes a sealed oilchamber to simultaneously lubricate bearings, gears, and seals (whichwill be described in detail in conjunction with FIGS. 4-6) which, amongother things, enables the use of oil-lubricated bearings. Suchoil-lubricated bearings may have less drag compared to conventionalgreased bearings, which may increase an efficiency of the scroll device100. Further, the compact nature of the scroll device 100 coupled withits high-speed operation makes it suitable for a variety of size andweight sensitive applications.

Turning to FIG. 2, an exploded perspective view of the scroll device 100is shown. The scroll device 100 utilizes a gear system to transmitrotational force from the motor 104 to the scrolls. The scroll device100 comprises a housing 102, within which two scrolls 110A, 110B aremounted on scroll bearings 112A, 112B, thus enabling the scrolls 110A,110B to rotate relative to the housing 102. The scroll bearings 112A,112B may each comprise a pair of bearings, or in other instances, maycomprise one bearing, two bearings, or more than two bearings. Eachscroll 110A, 110B comprises a scroll plate 114A, 114B coupled to arespective scroll shaft 116A, 116B (visible in FIG. 4) supported by thescroll bearings 112A, 112B. In some embodiments, the scrolls 110A, 110Bmay be integrated with each scroll shaft 116A, 116B. In the illustratedembodiment, each scroll shaft 116A, 116B comprises a bore 118A, 118B andeach bore 118A, 118B may be in fluid communication with the respectiveoutlet 108A, 108B. In other embodiments, only one of the scrolls shafts116A, 116B may comprise a bore 118A, 118B. In the illustratedembodiment, the scroll shafts 116A, 116B each extend through firstscroll bearings 112A-1, 112B-1 nearest the housing 102, one of a set ofsecond drive gears 120A, 120B, and second scroll bearings 112A-2, 112B-2(which are further from the housing 102 than the first scroll bearings112A-1, 112B-1). Each first bearing 112A-1, 112B-1 is supported by abearing plate 122A, 122B and each second bearing 112A-2, 112B-2 issupported by a cover plate 124A, 124B. It will be appreciated that insome embodiments, the cover plates 124A, 124B, the bearing plates 122A,122B, and/or the housing 102 may be formed or integrated as one piece.The housing 102, the cover plates 124A, 124B, and/or the bearing plates122A, 122B may be made, for example, of aluminum, an aluminum alloy, orany other metal or metal alloy. In some embodiments, at least one of thehousing 102, the cover plates 124A, 124B, and/or the bearing plates122A, 122B may be made of a composite material and/or a non-metallicmaterial. Each scroll 110A, 110B is fixedly secured to one of the set ofsecond drive gears 120A, 120B, which wraps around or encompasses acircumference of the scroll shafts 116A, 116B.

The motor 104 is secured or otherwise attached to the housing 102. Insome embodiments, the motor 104 may be housed in a motor housing (notshown). The motor 104 is operatively connected to a drive shaft 126,which may be supported by two drive bearings 128A, 128B. It will beappreciated that in some embodiments, the drive shaft 126 may besupported by one, two, or more than two drive bearings. The drive shaft126, as shown in the illustrated embodiment, extends through the bearingplates 122A, 122B, the housing 102, and the cover plate 124B. A firstset of drive gears 130A, 130B are mounted to the drive shaft 126, witheach first drive gear 130A, 130B positioned to engage a correspondinggear of the set of second drive gears 120A, 120B. A plurality offasteners 132 may be used to secure various components of the scrolldevice 100 in position.

Inside the volume formed by the housing 102, the bearing plates 122A,122B, and the scroll plates 124A, 124B may correspond to two opposingscrolls 110A, 110B, each comprising an involute 134A, 134B,respectively. Relative motion of the involutes 134A, 134B causes workingfluid to be trapped within pockets formed between the two involutes134A, 134B. These pockets continuously move the working fluid toward thecenter of the involutes 134A, 134B as the involutes 134A, 134B moverelative to each other. The pockets also decrease in size, thuscompressing the working fluid (for scroll devices that, like the scrolldevice 100, are scroll compressors). To prevent leakage of working fluidfrom inside these pockets, tip seals may be provided along the distaledge of each involute 134A, 134B. More specifically, a tip seal may beprovided along the edge of the involute 134A that is proximate thescroll 110B (such that the tip seal contacts the scroll 110B), andanother tip seal may be provided along the edge of the involute 134Bthat is proximate the scroll 110A (such that the tip seal contacts thescroll 110B).

During operation of the scroll device 100, uncompressed working fluid(for a scroll compressor) is received into the scroll housing 102 (andthus into the volume surrounding the scrolls 110A, 110B) via the inlet106. The working fluid is drawn into pockets that form between theinvolutes 134A, 134B as the scrolls 110A, 110B move relative to eachother. Compressed working fluid exits the pockets at or near a center ofthe volume formed by the involutes 134A, 134B. The center volume is influid communication with an internal volume of the scroll shaft 116A,116B, which internal volume is in fluid communication with therespective outlet 108A, 108B. The outlets 108A, 108B may discharge theworking fluid to hoses, pipes, or other conduits secured to the outlets108A, 108B and utilized to route compressed working fluid to a desiredlocation.

Turning to FIGS. 4-6, a cross-sectional elevation view of the scrolldevice 100 taken from line A-A of FIG. 3, a schematic diagram of alubrication chamber 136, and a cross-sectional perspective view of thescroll device 100 taken from line A-A of FIG. 3 are respectively shown.The lubrication chamber 136 is formed by the bearing plates 122A, 122Band the cover plates 124A, 124B, which define a lubrication volume. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, the lubrication chamber 136 is identified bydashed lines. The first drive gears 130A, 130B, the second drive gears120A, 120B, the drive shaft 126, the scroll bearings 112A, 112B, and thedrive bearings 128A, 128B are each disposed in the lubrication volume,in which lubrication (which may be, for example, oil) is dispersed bythe first drive gears 130A, 130B to lubricate the second drive gears120A, 120B, the first drive gears 130A, 130B, the scroll bearings 112A,112B, and the drive bearings 128A, 128B.

The lubrication chamber 136 may be sealed by seal 138 and seals 140comprising seals 140A, 140B, 140C, 140D (visible in FIG. 5) such thatthe lubrication chamber 136 is sealed and separated from the workingfluid. More specifically, the seal 138 may be used to prevent leakage ofthe lubrication into the motor 104 and vice versa, and the seals 140A,140B, 140C, 140D may be used to prevent leakage of the lubrication intothe working fluid in the housing 102 and vice versa. The seals 138, 140may be seated inside corresponding grooves or channels. The seals 138,140 may be dynamic 0-rings, dynamic gaskets, radial seals, mechanicalshaft seals, labyrinth seals, bushings, or any other seals useful forpreventing leakage of a fluid or lubrication through a joint between twocomponents. Further, the seals 138, 140 may be made of compressednon-asbestos fiber, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), rubber, silicone,other non-metallic materials, or any combination thereof; metal (whethera pure metal, a metal alloy, or a combination of metals or metalalloys); or a combination of non-metallic materials and metal. Some ofthe seals 138, 140 may be made of one material or combination ofmaterials, and others of the seals 138, 140 may be made of a differentmaterial or combination of materials. Each seal 138, 140 may be selectedto provide a needed or desired level of impermeability, compressibility,creep resistance, resilience, chemical resistance, temperatureresistance, anti-stick properties, and anti-corrosion properties.Because different scroll devices 100 may be used with different workingfluids and/or lubrications, the seals 138, 140 may be selected based onthe particular application intended for the scroll device 100 in whichthe seals 138, 140 will be installed.

The lubrication chamber 136 may comprise a level of lubrication 142(e.g., a lubrication sump) disposed near a bottom 144 of the lubricationchamber 136. As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the level oflubrication 142 may occupy less than ¼ of the volume of the lubricationchamber 136, though it will be appreciated that in other embodiments,the level of lubrication 142 may occupy more than ¼ of the volume of thelubrication chamber 136. In operation, the motor 104 causes the driveshaft 126 to spin, or rotate, about an axis, thus causing the firstdrive gears 130A, 130B to rotate. As the first drive gears 130A, 130Brotate, a portion of the first drive gears 130A, 130B that were incontact with the lubrication 142 are rotated the lubrication 142 iscarried away from the bottom 144 of the lubrication chamber 136 (e.g.,in a direction toward the top of the lubrication chamber 136, outwardlyfrom a center of the first drive gears 130A, 130B, etc., and/orcombinations thereof). Further, the first drive gears 130A, 130B mayrotate at a speed such that the rotation of the first drive gears 130A,130B causes the first drive gears 130A, 130B to disperse thelubrication—whether by flinging or splashing the lubrication orotherwise—in multiple directions and trajectories throughout thelubrication chamber 136. Such dispersion of the lubrication results inthe lubrication of components vertically above and adjacent to the firstdrive gears 130A, 130B such as the scroll bearings 112A, 112B, the drivebearings 128A, 128B, and the second drive gears 120A, 120B. The scrollbearings 112A, 112B and the drive bearings 128A, 128B may each compriseone or more open sides 148, 150 such that oil may enter and exit thescroll bearings 112A, 112B and the drive bearings 128A, 128B through theopen sides 148, 150, thus allowing the lubrication to further movethroughout the lubrication chamber 136. In some examples, thelubrication may correspond to a low viscosity oil. In one example, thelubrication may not correspond to a grease and may have a viscosity orweight less than or equal to a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 140rating. The lubrication may correspond to an engine oil, extremepressure oil, transmission oil, gear oil, a gearbox oil, synthetic oil,transmission fluid, etc., and/or combinations thereof. Some examples ofthe lubrication described herein may include, but are in no way limitedto, Castrol® brand Transmax Type F, Mobil™ Delvac 1 brand 75W-90synthetic gear oil, Mobil™ Delvac 1 brand transmission fluid 40, Granttbrant gear oil (e.g., API GL-4 SAE 140, etc.), and/or the like.

The lubrication chamber 136 may also comprise a passageway 152 thatprovides at least one path and fluid connection for the lubricationbetween a first drive gear portion 154A housing the first drive gear130A and defined by the bearing plate 122A and the cover plate 124A, anda second drive gear portion 154B housing the second drive gear 130B anddefined by the bearing plate 122B and the cover plate 124B. In otherwords, the passageway 152 enables the first drive gear portion 154A andthe second drive gear portion 154B to be in fluid communication.Further, the passageway 152 enables the lubrication to settle at an evenlevel between the first drive gear portion 154A and the second drivegear portion 154B when the scroll device 100 is not operating. Asvisible in FIGS. 2 and 6, the passageway 152 extends through the bearingplates 122A, 112B, and the housing 102. Though not shown, the scrolldevice 100 may comprise a port in communication with the lubricationchamber 136 for adding or removing lubrication to or from thelubrication chamber 136 and/or a view port for viewing a level of thelubrication.

As previously described, in operation, the motor 104 spins the driveshaft 126, thus causing the first drive gears 130A, 130B to rotate. Thefirst drive gears 130A, 130B transmit torque to the second drive gears120A, 120B, the rotation of which results in the rotation of the scrolls110A, 110B to which they are affixed. Using the first drive gears 130A,130B and the second drive gears 120A, 120B beneficially allows the motor104 to be located away from the scrolls 110A, 110B, and facilitates theprovision of large working fluid outlets 108A, 108B. This, in turn,enables the scroll device 100 to be utilized in applications where ahigh flow rate is needed. Use of the drive shaft 126 and the first drivegears 130A, 130B and the second drive gears 120A, 120B beneficiallyenables the use of a single motor to drive both of the scrolls 110A,110B.

Additionally, the use of the first drive gears 130A, 130B and the seconddrive gears 120A, 120B allows the scroll device 100 to benefit frommechanical advantage. More specifically, by adjusting the size of thefirst drive gears 130A, 130B relative to the second drive gears 120A,120B, mechanical advantage may be beneficially utilized to obtain thedesired scroll rotation speed while allowing the motor 104 to operate ata different (perhaps more efficient) speed, and/or to enable aless-powerful (and likely cheaper) motor 104 to be used than would berequired with a 1:1 drive ratio. For example, such mechanical advantageenables high gear ratios that allows high speed rotation of the scrolls110A, 110B with a lower input shaft and operational speed of the motor104. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in some embodiments, the scrolldevice 100 may utilize a 1:1 drive ratio. Additionally, in someembodiments, the first drive gears 130A, 130B and the second drive gears130A, 130B may comprise meshed gears to maintain angular positioningbetween the scroll shafts 116A, 116B, which may be parallel andmisaligned. In some embodiments, the first drive gears 130A, 130B andthe second drive gears 120A, 120B may comprise helical cut gears.

Where the working fluid is an incompressible fluid, such that there is a1:1 ratio between the inlet volume and the outlet volume, the inlet 106and the outlet(s) 108A, 108B may be reversed. Additionally, the scrolldevice 100 could be modified to utilize two inlets and/or two outlets toreduce throttling effects and increase flow rate. For example, anadditional aperture could be provided in the housing 102 adjacent theworking fluid volume, thus enabling the aperture to serve as a secondoutlet (or, if the outlets 108A, 108B and the inlet 106 are reversed, asa second inlet).

In the scroll device 100, the drive shaft 126 must remain equidistantfrom the center of rotation of each scroll of the scroll device tomaintain an equal rotation speed and thus the needed relative angularposition between the scrolls. In some embodiments, the drive shaft 126may comprise the rotor of the motor 104, in which event the stator andother portions of the motor 104 may be centrally mounted and positionedaround the drive shaft 126, in between the gears that are also mountedto the drive shaft 126. It will be appreciated that in some embodiments,the motor 104 may utilize liquid cooling to remove heat therefrom. Theliquid coolant may be routed around the motor in channels provided in,for example, any housing in which the motor is mounted for that purpose,or the liquid coolant may be routed around the motor via tubing, hoses,or any other suitable conduit.

The exemplary devices, methods, and systems of this disclosure have beendescribed in relation to scroll devices such as scroll pumps orcompressors, etc. However, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presentdisclosure, the preceding description omits a number of known structuresand devices. This omission is not to be construed as a limitation of thescope of the claimed disclosure. Specific details are set forth toprovide an understanding of the present disclosure. It should, however,be appreciated that the present disclosure may be practiced in a varietyof ways beyond the specific detail set forth herein.

A number of variations and modifications of the disclosure can be used.It would be possible to provide for some features of the disclosurewithout providing others.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an example embodiment,” “some embodiments,” etc., indicate that theembodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrasesare not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconjunction with one embodiment, it is submitted that the description ofsuch feature, structure, or characteristic may apply to any otherembodiment unless so stated and/or except as will be readily apparent toone skilled in the art from the description. The present disclosure, invarious embodiments, configurations, and aspects, includes components,methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depictedand described herein, including various embodiments, subcombinations,and subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art will understand how tomake and use the systems and methods disclosed herein afterunderstanding the present disclosure. The present disclosure, in variousembodiments, configurations, and aspects, includes providing devices andprocesses in the absence of items not depicted and/or described hereinor in various embodiments, configurations, or aspects hereof, includingin the absence of such items as may have been used in previous devicesor processes, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease, and/orreducing cost of implementation.

The foregoing discussion of the disclosure has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intendedto limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. In theforegoing Detailed Description for example, various features of thedisclosure are grouped together in one or more embodiments,configurations, or aspects for the purpose of streamlining thedisclosure. The features of the embodiments, configurations, or aspectsof the disclosure may be combined in alternate embodiments,configurations, or aspects other than those discussed above. This methodof disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention thatthe claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly recitedin each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventiveaspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosedembodiment, configuration, or aspect. Thus, the following claims arehereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of thedisclosure.

Moreover, though the description of the disclosure has includeddescription of one or more embodiments, configurations, or aspects andcertain variations and modifications, other variations, combinations,and modifications are within the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as maybe within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, afterunderstanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights,which include alternative embodiments, configurations, or aspects to theextent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalentstructures, functions, ranges, or steps to those claimed, whether or notsuch alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions,ranges, or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publiclydedicate any patentable subject matter.

It is to be appreciated that any feature described herein can be claimedin combination with any other feature(s) as described herein, regardlessof whether the features come from the same described embodiment.

As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “include,”“including,” “includes,” “comprise,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,”when used in this specification, specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof. The term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one ormore of the associated listed items.

The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. Assuch, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more,” and “at least one” can beused interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms“comprising,” “including,” and “having” can be used interchangeably.

The phrases “at least one,” “one or more,” “or,” and “and/or” areopen-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive inoperation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, Band C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “oneor more of A, B, or C,” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, Calone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B,and C together. When each one of A, B, and C in the above expressionsrefers to an element, such as X, Y, and Z, or a class of elements, suchas X1-Xn, Y1-Ym, and Z1-Zo, the phrase is intended to refer to a singleelement selected from X, Y, and Z, a combination of elements selectedfrom the same class (e.g., X1 and X2) as well as a combination ofelements selected from two or more classes (e.g., Yb1 and Zo).

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It willbe further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andthis disclosure.

It should be understood that every maximum numerical limitation giventhroughout this disclosure is deemed to include each and every lowernumerical limitation as an alternative, as if such lower numericallimitations were expressly written herein. Every minimum numericallimitation given throughout this disclosure is deemed to include eachand every higher numerical limitation as an alternative, as if suchhigher numerical limitations were expressly written herein. Everynumerical range given throughout this disclosure is deemed to includeeach and every narrower numerical range that falls within such broadernumerical range, as if such narrower numerical ranges were all expresslywritten herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A spinning scroll device comprising: a housingdefining a working fluid volume; a lubrication chamber defining alubrication volume, wherein the working fluid volume and the lubricationvolume are separated from one another; a first scroll mounted within thehousing and rotatably supported by one of a set of second drive gears,the set of second drive gears disposed in the lubrication volume; asecond scroll mounted within the housing and rotatably supported byanother one of the set of second drive gears; a motor; and a drive shaftoperatively connected to the motor, the drive shaft supported by a setof first drive gears, the drive shaft configured to transmit torque fromthe motor to each of the first scroll and the second scroll via the setof first drive gears and the set of second drive gears, the set of firstdrive gears disposed in the lubrication volume.
 2. The spinning scrolldevice of claim 1, further comprising a set of bearing plates coupled tothe housing and a set of cover plates respectively coupled to the set ofbearing plates, wherein the housing, the set of bearing plates, and theset of cover plates form the lubrication chamber.
 3. The spinning scrolldevice of claim 1, wherein the lubrication chamber comprises a firstdrive gear portion housing one of the set of first drive gears and asecond drive gear portion housing another one of the set of first drivegears.
 4. The spinning scroll device of claim 3, wherein the lubricationchamber comprises a passageway fluidly connecting the first drive gearportion and the second drive gear portion.
 5. The spinning scroll deviceof claim 1, wherein the lubrication chamber comprises lubrication and aportion of the set of first drive gears is in contact with thelubrication, and wherein rotation of the set of first drive gearsdisperses the lubrication to the set of second drive gears.
 6. Thespinning scroll device of claim 1, wherein each of the first scroll andthe second scroll comprises a scroll shaft coupled to a scroll plate,wherein the scroll shaft is supported by a respective second drive gearof the set of second drive gears.
 7. The spinning scroll device of claim6, further comprising: a first scroll bearing configured to support thescroll shaft of the first scroll; a second scroll bearing configured tosupport the scroll shaft of the second scroll; and a drive bearingconfigured to support the drive shaft, wherein the first scroll bearing,the second scroll bearing, and the drive bearing are disposed in thelubrication volume.
 8. The spinning scroll device of claim 1, whereinthe motor is liquid cooled.
 9. A spinning scroll device comprising: ahousing defining a working fluid volume; a lubrication chamber defininga lubrication volume, wherein the working fluid volume and thelubrication volume are fluidly separated from one another; a firstscroll rotatably mounted within the housing and supported by a firstscroll bearing, the first scroll bearing disposed in the lubricationvolume; a second scroll rotatably mounted within the housing andsupported by a second scroll bearing, the second scroll bearing disposedin the lubrication volume; a motor; a drive shaft operatively connectedto the motor, the drive shaft configured to transmit torque from themotor to each of the first scroll and the second scroll, the drive shaftsupported by a drive bearing disposed in the lubrication volume.
 10. Thespinning scroll device of claim 9, further comprising: a set of firstdrive gears configured to support the drive shaft, the set of firstdrive gears disposed in the lubrication volume; a set of second drivegears disposed in the lubrication volume, wherein one of the set ofsecond drive gears is configured to support the first scroll and,wherein another one of the set of second drive gears is configured tosupport the second scroll, wherein the drive shaft transmit torque fromthe motor to each of the first scroll and the second scroll via the setof first drive gears and the set of second drive gears.
 11. The spinningscroll device of claim 10, wherein the lubrication chamber comprises afirst drive gear portion housing one of the set of first drive gears anda second drive gear portion housing another one of the set of firstdrive gears.
 12. The spinning scroll device of claim 11, wherein thelubrication chamber comprises a passageway fluidly connecting the firstdrive gear portion and the second drive gear portion.
 13. The spinningscroll device of claim 10, wherein the lubrication chamber compriseslubrication and a portion of the set of first drive gears is in contactwith the lubrication, and wherein rotation of the set of first drivegears disperses the lubrication to the set of second drive gears. 14.The spinning scroll device of claim 13, wherein the lubricationcomprises an oil.
 15. The spinning scroll device of claim 10, whereineach of the first scroll and the second scroll comprises a scroll shaftcoupled to a scroll plate, wherein the scroll shaft is supported by arespective second drive gear of the set of second drive gears.
 16. Thespinning scroll device of claim 9, further comprising a set of bearingplates coupled to the housing and a set of cover plates coupled to theset of bearing plates, wherein the housing, the set of bearing plates,and the set of cover plates form the lubrication chamber.
 17. A spinningscroll device comprising: a housing defining a working fluid volume; alubrication chamber defining a lubrication volume, wherein the workingfluid volume and the lubrication volume are separated and independent ofone another; a first scroll mounted within the housing and rotatablysupported by a first drive gear of a set of second drive gears and afirst scroll bearing, the set of second drive gears and the first scrollbearing disposed in the lubrication volume; a second scroll mountedwithin the housing and rotatably supported by a second drive gear of theset of second drive gears and a second scroll bearing, the second scrollbearing disposed in the lubrication volume; a motor; and a drive shaftoperatively coupled with the motor and supported by a set of first drivegears and a drive bearing, the drive shaft configured to transmit torquefrom the motor to each of the first scroll and the second scroll via theset of first drive gears and the set of second drive gears, the set offirst drive gears and the drive bearing disposed in the lubricationvolume.
 18. The spinning scroll device of claim 17, wherein each of thefirst scroll bearing, the second scroll bearing, and the drive bearingcomprise a pair of bearings.
 19. The spinning scroll device of claim 17,wherein the lubrication chamber comprises a lubrication fluid and aportion of the set of first drive gears is in contact with thelubrication fluid, and wherein rotation of the set of first drive gearsdisperses the lubrication fluid to the set of second drive gears. 20.The spinning scroll device of claim 19, wherein each of the first scrollbearing, the second scroll bearing, and the drive bearing comprise opensides configured to enable the lubrication fluid to pass through therespective first scroll bearing, the second scroll bearing, and thedrive bearing.